How cancer has scrambled Iowa’s midterm politics

Cancer has become a central theme in Iowa's midterm campaigns, an unexpected development in a state defined by corn and hog production. Candidates from both parties are now promising action on the environmental roots of the disease, and CNN reports that roughly $30 million has gone toward more than 100 ads mentioning cancer, according to AdImpact. The 2022 midterms saw a single such ad, costing a little under $200,000.

The push follows a state cancer report showing Iowa's rates rising faster than anywhere else in the country. Iowa's Health Department points mainly to obesity, alcohol and smoking, though it concedes environmental exposure may contribute. Advocates and some farmers blame nitrate from livestock manure washing into waterways. In the governor's race, Republican Zach Lahn and Democrat Rob Sand each cast the issue as foundational during a debate, then criticized one another's record. Senate rivals Ashley Hinson, a Republican, and Josh Turek, a Democrat, both back added money for safe drinking water.

The Make America Healthy Again movement helped Lahn defeat Representative Randy Feenstra in the primary, with MAHA Action, led by Tony Lyons, spending $1. 5 million. Still, Lahn must answer for Trump administration pesticide and deregulation moves.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CNN’s reporting. Read the full story at CNN →